Vegas Baby! My 2nd TpT Conference!

I can't believe that is has already been over a week since the TpT Conference!!..I was only home for part of a day & then headed to Northern California with my family to spend time with my brother's family...got home & now I'm busy with VBS!!  So, here is my experience!!

Vegas!  Wow!
The most important thing to me was seeing & meeting people {if you look on my sidebar at the top & read my mission statement, one the of the items is I want to develop & maintain meaningful relationships!}

As I look at this collage, my heart fills & I realize I have more stories than I will be able to share in this post.  It was beyond amazing to talk with these incredible individuals!

Wednesday

Last year I attending the conference & met Kelly Malloy from An Apple for the Teacher & we really hit it off.  We have been growing our long distance friendship all year & the first thing that I wanted to do when I arrived was meet up with her...she was attending the Differentiated Instruction conference that was taking place there too...we met up for lunch as soon as I arrived...she brought a new friend she had met at her conference & I ran into one of my teammates from my school who was at the conference...the four of us had a nice lunch, but no pictures... :-(  This shows us from last year & this year!

After lunch I headed up to the vendor fair and who did I see & meet??...Kimberly Geswein & family {this picture was taken later}

I decided to get checked in at my hotel across town...mistake!  By the time I got across town, checked in, stuff up to my room, back to the Venetian, I was LATE for the Cool Kids Meet & Greet I couldn't find the restaurant!!! :-(  I think because my emotions were so on the surface, excited about the conference & seeing everyone, that when I was oh, 40 minutes late to the get together I just couldn't stop the tears from flowing...Kayse's husband was so sweet & tried to find a spot for me to sit down & eat.  I met several people & enjoyed some great food...sweet Kayse & Sheri gave us the little key ring with what?...an apple!  That made my day! ...

From there we headed to the Teacher Blogger Meet-up...I had attended 2 years ago when there were about 150 of us, last year I missed it & this year...there were about 1,000 of us!!! We received a goodie bag {bottom left square} & I love that my Coke said "Dreamer"...perfect for the conference... Amie from Glitter Meets Glue...had put out on Social Media that if you said, 'Glitter Swag' she would give you some clipart!!...it is on the cute flashdrive!...the sponsors of the Meet Up gave away a TON of amazing prizes & I WON!!!...AN Ellison Super Star Machine.  If you click HERE you can see me on Ellison's Blog Page!!!!! THANK YOU ELLISON!!!!!!!

Thursday 
The day began with a chance to meet & mingle with people at your grade level...I enjoyed meeting new friends & connecting with others that I have 'known' online.

While the TpT Conference was happening there were several other Educational Conferences happening in the same place.  I was able to have lunch with one of my teammates...it was great to share what a great experience I had already had & we hadn't even had the opening session yet!

It was incredible to be in the conference room for the opening session with 1,100 other TpTers...from multimillionaires to little fish like me...
I enjoyed the sessions I went to on Thursday!  I was inspired, challenged, enlightened, and entertained!  Thank you to all of the fantastic presenters!


Friday
Friday morning was a little frustrating because my phone died...charger wasn't plugged in all of the way & so I overslept & had a major headache :-(  I missed the breakfast, but was able to grab some fruit to take into the Opening Session, the Keynote.  I was thrilled to learn all that I did in the sessions I attended.  One I went to the wrong room number, but it was one of those things where I was EXACTLY where I was supposed to be!  Another session I had changed my mind & went to a different session then I had signed up for.  I learned a TON of information & the presenter was someone I did not know of before. I am a major fan of hers now!!!  

The closing was a Meet & Greet happy hour...
NOISY...but wonderful!!!

I grabbed a super 'healthy' dinner...NOT








{hmmm...notice anything different about this picture...another thing that has been keeping me busy...that will be part of my next post!}
After that 'healthy' dinner I headed to the last the the get togethers...The Primary Pack Kick Back.

Saturday

I had my room through Sunday morning {originally my family was going to come up, but didn't...I decided to stay}
My focus on Saturday was to rewrite all of my conference notes, reflect on what I had learned & make 'To Do' Lists.


Take Aways~Changes~Other

Last year before the TpT Conference I blogged about feeling 'STUCK', the kind of stuck that feels like you are in tar~ I shared a scene out of The Croods & said how I was praying that the conference would get me 'Unstuck' for this last year my password for TpT has been Outofthetar^5 {5 is my favorite number} is has been a good reminder for me.  I now have 30 products in my store & I am ready to take things to the next level!

One of the joys of the conference was meeting the person behind the logo...Laine came all the way from Africa! I really enjoyed meeting her & telling her of a friend {also a teacher} who had gone to South Africa twice & Laine not only gave me a bracelet for her, but also some stickers she had made as well.

No new logo on this one because I had created this collage while still in Vegas & put it on Instagram...

Speaking of Instagram~I am there!!! @The_apple_basket_teacher...now Periscope is sucking me in too!!  :)  Love sharing with other great teachers!!!

I am still two weeks later reflecting & digesting it all, I spoke with so many amazing people!!!  Look at all of these business cards{!!}  I DIDN'T randomly pick up cards either~I had conversations with every person these cards represent!!

 Now, if you have seen other pictures of Vegas you have probably seen a lot of group pictures...many times when there are large groups of people...schools, churches, other organizations, you hear about cliques...as I reflected I realized there were groups~those from the same area, those who work on collaborative blogs, those who have presented together, but cliques~NO!~ I think of a clique as excluding~EVERY SINGLE PERSON I saw & met was warm, friendly, encouraging, & INCLUSIVE!! what a rare group of individuals to be a part of~I am BLESSED!

Now, if the TpT Vegas Linky is still open, I am off to FINALLY link up!!!~~ it is, it is!! Link up here~~